The justices refused to accept the request of Cambridge Christian School.
By Catholics for Catholics
Without comment or fanfare, the Supreme Court on Monday ignored a request from a Christian school to be able to pray over the loudspeaker before a football game.
In their Monday’s order list, the judges stated that they will not take up the case of Cambridge Christian School v. Florida High School Athletic Association, according to a story in the Washington Times.
The impugn was presented by Cambridge Christian School in Tampa, Florida.
Cambridge, a private school, made a case that its First Amendment right to free speech and free exercise was encroached upon when school representatives weren’t permitted to pray over the loudspeaker ahead of its title game.
The school was playing a fellow Christian school, and both sought to engage in the pregame prayer.
The controversy started in 2014, when prayer over the loudspeaker had been permitted, but in 2015, the Florida High School Athletic Association, which supervises public and private school athletics, said it would be considered government speech and an endorsement of religion. The association barred the pregame prayer.
In 2016 Cambridge sued, but lower courts weighed against the Christian school in its fight. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals contended there was no violation of free speech rights and that the prayer over the loudspeaker could be deemed government speech.
Monday’s decision by the Supreme Court (it would have taken just four judges in favor of hearing the legal battle for oral arguments) not taking up the appeal leaves the 11th Circuit’s ruling in place.
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